The state has reprimanded and fined Church and Chapel Funeral Homes, saying the company's New Berlin office failed to honor a contract for a prepaid funeral.

The actions follow a Journal Sentinel Public Investigator article about Julia Lukasik, 92, who thought she had reached an agreement on the price of her funeral when she signed a contract with Church and Chapel 15 years ago.

The Department of Regulation and Licensing reprimanded the company and ordered it to pay a $1,105 fine, according to an order it issued Aug. 16.

The department conducted an investigation after receiving a complaint June 21, 2010, from Lukasik's son, Michael Lukasik of Milwaukee. He alleged that Church and Chapel failed to honor prices agreed to in the contract.

The investigation found, according to the order:

When the Lukasiks met with Church and Chapel in 1995 to plan Julia Lukasik's services, she agreed to pay upfront but was told that was not necessary, and she didn't. Church and Chapel told her that all prices, except for publishing an obituary and opening the grave, were guaranteed.

The contract stated that the price was $5,151.

When Michael Lukasik contacted Church and Chapel about the contract 15 years later, in June 2010, owner Ted Larsen told him the contract could not be honored because no prepayment had been made.

Larsen told Lukasik at the time the price would be raised to reflect the current price of caskets.

Two months later, in August 2010, Larsen told state investigators he would honor the 1995 prices, but the family would have to pay the full amount right away, not 11/2 months after the funeral, as the contract states.

Asked about the actions taken by the state, Larsen said the matter was "an unfortunate miscommunication" involving a staff member, now deceased, who was a family friend of the Lukasiks.

He said Church and Chapel has improved its system for funeral preplanning, which he said is a prudent way for families to arrange services.

Michael Lukasik said Larsen expresses compassion and family values in his television commercials and that, "I just wish he had followed those principles with my mother."

Lukasik said his mother's arrangements are now with Max A. Sass & Sons, which agreed to honor the price quoted in Church and Chapel's contract.